Watch Guide: Brooklyn Hipsters

The Watches Brooklyn Hipsters Are Wearing

Brooklyn isn't just a borough in New York City; it's become a worldwide lifestyle trend. Defining it is tricky: Is it the L train ride or is it the beards that just don't stop growing? However you define it, BK has emerged with its own style. The hipsters have taken what’s hot, but not necessarily new, to a new level of cool.

This summer, Brooklyn hipsters are rolling up the sleeves of their plaid shirts to reveal the latest watch styles. And they've chosen their watches for all the reasons one chooses a timepiece. Whether or not they support the generalization that hipsters love the vintage and the retro, their watches ring true to their nature. Sourced locally (sometimes), altered unprofessionally, worn clashingly and ever-changing, the hipster watch takes on many forms. Here are some of them.

Alessi Record WatchPrice: $130

Weekday or weekend appeal: With its slight sense of humor, this watch is all week, all weekend.

Designed by architect and designer Achille Castiglioni, who is known for his use of minimalism to achieve the maximum, this watch is no exception. Attached to the homeware brand Alessi, the Record watch feels overly functional with a slight snarky effect — perfect for the Brooklyn hipster. Of course, the dial art, by Swiss graphic designer Max Huber, fuels this exact appeal.

The latest Record emerges with a large black face accompanied by yellow-and-purple interchangeable leather straps. This new version comes in a 36-mm-wide case and is 7-mm thick. Keeping a change of watch straps on you makes taking this piece from day to night even easier.

Why they love it: Easy — it matches those hefty black-rimmed glasses.Why we love it: It feels like a collector’s piece at a non-collector’s price.

Weekday or weekend appeal: Save this one for the weekend, especially for telling time at the local speakeasy or in the pool.

No doubt inspired by cult film Blade Runner, the Philippe Starck-designed unisex digital watch has the essential quality of a retro movie. This sleek, discreet watch, made by American watch company Fossil, has an LED time display that can be seen through the black resin case. The all-matte, all-black polyurethane watch has a case size of 35 mm wide and a case thickness of 12 mm. Petite and futuristic, it's nothing unexpected from the pivotal designer of our modern time. Starck brought lifestyle design to the world, and his cult following very much includes the hipsters who have looked to him as inspiration for their worlds and now for their watches.

Why they love it: Red LED illumination. Need we say more?Why we love it: Extra durable and very easy to read makes this a wise choice.

Weekday or weekend appeal: Durability is key, so this makes for a great choice that can handle all kinds of activity.

There is nothing more retro-classic than the Casio square digital design in the watch universe. With this feature-packed watch, making an existential statement about time and design is easy for the Brooklyn hipster. The case is 38.2 mm wide and 8.5 mm thick, and consists simply of steel and resin.

The watch’s signature font and a throwback to a myriad of '90s TV shows can't help but add to the extra cool factor. But if that wasn’t enough, the Casio square digital design is the official United States Air Force training watch — all adding to its insurgent allure, even post-Top Gun.

The watch comes complete with water resistance to 30 meters, a stopwatch, calendar, LED light and an alarm giving it that extra practical air. From the sweaty yoga class to the Silicon Alley meeting and right back to the latest bar, the watch is up for anything.

Why they love it: It is the perfect anti-watch.Why we love it: All the gadgets in one place make it the Swiss Army knife of watches.